Solid Facts
by Miller0259
Summary: Azkadellia goes over the solid facts which nobody knows. And hopefully they will stay unknown.


A/N: I'm so pumped for this right now.

Prompt: Solid

TMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTM

Azkadellia stared at her reflection framed within the mirror. Her face held a curious yet hesitant gaze. Her eyes traced over every curve and line in her face and waited.

_I can't believe DG came back for me. I can't believe DG is alive after all these years. I can't believe she stopped the Witch's plans for the Eclipse._

She glanced to the right, at the sun shining through the window of her room in reassurance, before looking back to the mirror.

There was still no response in her head other than her own thoughts.

_But she did. She did come back. She is still alive. She did stop the Witch. And she saved me!_

A single tear formed in the corner of her eye as her lips trembled as she kept them pressed together.

_But how much of myself was left to save? How much of the old Az was still in my head and not corrupted by the Witch? How much of my actions were my own and only suggested or encouraged by the Witch?_

Because no one had really asked her about her possession yet. She hadn't needed to explain the experience to anyone. But it was only a matter of time. Only a matter of time, before they learned that while the Witch was magically powerful enough to control Azkadellia, she didn't do so 100 percent of the time.

Whenever the Witch was emotionally worked up, overly angry, annoyed or even happy, did her evil personality slip over Azkadellia's. The rest of the time she lingered around the edges of Az's mind. Whispering her thoughts. Her ideas. Her orders.

She planted many seeds of doubt in her mind. She convinced Az that her parents loved DG more than her. That DG would turn against her one day. Looking back on it now, Azkadellia could see how easy it was for the Witch to convince her impressionable young mind that DG must be killed.

Azkadellia had reminded the Witch of how she and DG were such good friends, but the Witch kept repeating the prophecy over and over. And though Az hadn't been able to go through with it herself, the first footsteps towards DG's room were her own. Then the Witch's veil of control fell over her and she watched in morbid fascination as the Witch choked the life out of DG. The horror she felt at the time was lessened by the abject fear she had of the Witch's power, as well as the power of the prophecy.

The Witch let Azkadellia go about on her own most days, but whenever her mind would start to linger on DG or her parents, the Witch would be there, whispering.

She taught Azkadellia many things. Many things about magic. Many things about the history of the OZ. The history according to her. She seduced her with power and knowledge.

And then DG had come back.

Surprise, betrayal, and confusion had assaulted Azkadellia that first day. That was the day Azkadellia had her first real feeling of doubt. Doubt in the Witch. And as the week progressed it continued to grow. Could the Witch be wrong about her parents? About DG?

The day in Finaqua when she found her Mother's message for DG, the Witch had told her that yes, her parents had known about the two of them, but had left her for dead. She told Azkadellia that she would never leave her. Azkadellia had been comforted by this and yet the crack in their trust had already been made. And it was only made wider as the Witch made her remember more of her past with DG.

When DG held out her hand to her on the balcony, Azkadellia could only stare at it. The Witch was screaming at her to focus on the emerald. To focus on their plan. They were so close to winning.

But DG was prying at the crack in Azkadellia's trust in the Witch with a proverbial crowbar. She could remember all of those times too. Those were good memories. Not at all the image the Witch had painted in Azkadellia's head about DG over the years. The Witch was frantically trying to convince Azkadellia not to trust DG. That DG would destroy them both. That they had become too entwined over the years.

'Just take my hand. Nothing can hurt us if we're together.'

It was such a simple request. So what if she just reached out and –

The Witch reacted violently. With all of the magic swirling around them she didn't just slip over Azkadellia's personality, she took over Az's appearance with her own.

But Azkadellia was convinced. She needed to try. She just needed to reach out.

'I'm scared.' Az had told DG.

'I know, and I'll never run away again. Just take my hand.'

The sensation had been overwhelming. The Witch was screaming and Azkadellia was trying to keep her wits about her. Keep all of her thoughts separate from the Witch's. Focus on separating their minds. She had focused on DG's light too. It was so familiar. So bright. So unlike the Witch's.

She knew she was doing the right thing.

_So why do I feel so empty now? _

Az tilted her head considering her lips. She had had numerous talks with the Witch using the same set of lips for both sides of the conversation. She had slipped into that trance hundreds of times over the years.

And yet now they were silent.

_Say something._

…

Az leaned forward and gripped both sides of the mirror, staring hard at the reflection.

"Say something!"

…

She was breathing hard, as if she had just sprinted up the stairs of the Tower. When no thoughts but her own crossed her mind for over a minute, Az knew she was gone. She began to sob. She bowed her head, and allowed her beautiful face to contort with an emotional pain Az didn't know what to label.

It was relief. It was disappointment. It was mourning. It was disbelief. It was gratefulness. It was joy.

But above all it was her own.


End file.
